Five Days in London, May 1940

5/24 to 5/28/40 altered the course of the history, as the British War Cabinet debated whether to negotiate with Hitler or continue the war. The importance of these five days is the focus of Lukacs' new book. He takes us hour by hour into the unfolding of events at 10 Downing St, where Churchill & his cabinet were considering their war responsibilities. We see how the military disasters on the Continent--especially the plight of the nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk--affected Churchill's fragile political situation, for he'd been prime minister only a fortnight & was regarded as impetuously hotheaded even by many of his own party. He also investigates the mood of the British, drawing on newspaper & Mass-Observation reports showing how they, tho only partly informed of the dangers, began to support Churchill's determination.

Preface

Acknowledgments

The Hinge of Fate

The turning point. Two accounts

The awesomeness of the German tide

Black Fortnight

Problems of British morale

Distrust of Churchill

Opinions & sentiments

"Outwardly calm, inwardly anxious"

Friday, 24 May

Hitler's halt order

The Germans before Dunkirk

Calais

Hitler & the Conservatives

The two Rights

Chamberlain

Appeasers

Halifax

The War Cabinet

Churchill & Roosevelt

The British press

"A slight increase in anxiety & a slight decrease in optimism"

Saturday, 25 May

An English weekend

The French: Weygand & Petain

Halifax & the Italian ambassador

Churchill & the Defence Committee

"Depression is quite definitely up"

Sunday, 26 May

An agitated day

Three meetings of the War Cabinet

Chamberlain, Halifax, Churchill

Disagreements between Halifax & Churchill

Scarcity of news: "A mandate to delay judgment & not to worry"

"In Westminster Abbey"

Monday, 27 May

What was happening at Dunkirk

The Belgians surrender

American considerations

Three War Cabinets & a walk in the garden

"You'd have been better off playing cricket"

Tuesday, 28 May

Morale, opinion & the press

"We cannot possibly starve the public in this way"

Foreigners & refugees

Churchill's instructions & the first War Cabinet

His statement in the Commons

The second War Cabinet

Churchill's coup

He comes through

Survival

A long-range view of the war

The meaning of Dunkirk

"It is time to face up to facts"

Halifax redux

An antiquated Britain

Churchill & Europe

Fortissimo

Bibliography

Illustration Credits

Index